Ballot Measure 119 would give cannabis workers the right to unionize

By Eric Tegethoff, Oregon News Service

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Voters in November will decide whether Oregon cannabis workers are allowed to unionize.

Measure 119 is the last initiative to qualify for the Nov. 5 ballot in Oregon. Workers in the cannabis sector do not currently have the option to unionize.

Miles Eshaia, communications coordinator for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, said it is an oversight from the initiative in 2014 legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

"One of the things that it didn't do was set up the necessary protections for workers," Eshaia said. "States like New Jersey, California, New York - when they legalized marijuana at the state level, they added a pass for worker protections, and Oregon simply doesn't."

The union pushed for a fix from lawmakers in Salem last year, but it ultimately failed. Supporters of Measure 119 submitted more than 163,000 signatures for the initiative in July, well over the 117,000 needed to qualify. Opponents said the measure violates federal labor law.

Eshaia argued the industry needs to be brought out of the dark and offered greater protections than those provided by the state labor agency.

"Something that's rampant in the industry is toxic chemicals, unchecked safety concerns and lack of proper PPE," Eshaia contended. "Employers often cut corners. They compromise both worker and consumer safety, and you can avoid all that with a collectively bargained agreement and a collectively bargained safety agreement."

Eshaia stressed organizing the workplace without interference is a right.

"Workers across every industry should have the absolute freedom to unionize, if they so choose," Eshaia emphasized. "What this ballot measure really does is just closes an old loophole that deprives certain workers, thousands of workers, from that right."